You think you can embarrass me? You belong to me!" Derek screamed as waiters tackled him onto the manicured gala lawn, leaving me kneeling on the grass

The next six hours were a frantic blur of flashing red emergency lights, clinical sterile scents, and agonizing, crushing labor pains.

Because of the physical trauma from the attack, an immediate emergency C-section was performed at St. Jude’s Hospital under the highest level of security the city had ever seen. The entire hospital was placed on lockdown by federal marshals to ensure no remaining Ashford loyalists could enter.

In the operating room, my father held my left hand, tears streaming down his face as he whispered words of encouragement.

"You're doing so well, Victoria," he choked out, squeezing my fingers. "You're the strongest person I've ever known."

"Is she okay, Dad? Is the baby okay?" I begged through the oxygen mask, my vision fading in and out.

"Dr. Hoffman is right here, sweetheart. Hold on."

"Deep breaths, Victoria," Dr. Hoffman said from behind the surgical curtain. "We are extracting the baby now. You're doing great... almost there..."

A heavy silence hung in the room for three agonizing seconds—a silence that felt like an eternity.

Then, suddenly, a high-pitched, loud, healthy cry echoed through the operating room.

Tears spilled freely down my cheeks.

"It’s a girl!" Dr. Hoffman announced joyfully, holding up a beautiful, tiny baby with dark hair and bright blue eyes. "Eight pounds, six ounces! She is perfectly healthy, Victoria!"

They brought her over to my chest, wrapped in a warm pink blanket. I looked down into her tiny face, her small fingers reaching out to touch my cheek. The terror, the pain, the bruises on my neck, the months of living in fear—it all dissolved into nothingness the second I held her in my arms.

"Welcome to the world, my love," I sobbed, kissing her tiny forehead. "Nobody will ever hurt you again. I promise."

"What are you going to name her?" my father asked softly, wiping his eyes as he looked down at his granddaughter.